Life Journey of a Bahasa-Speaking Kid

July-September 2011
A Quarterly Newsletter Linking Christian Bahasa Writers, Publishers, Bahasa Churches and Ministry Workers Around Malaysia
Life Journey of a Bahasa-Speaking Kid
Greetings!
We heard so many good testimonies and
heartening stories of children (and families)
being blessed by our “101 Cerita-Cerita Dari
Alkitab”. In Central Mulu Sarawak, children just
cannot wait to read the book. And a Baptist
church distributed 4,500 copies of the book in
nearly 200 Iban longhouses along the Baram river
through their “Satu Pintu, Satu Buku” campaign.
They need another 3,000 copies for that project!
And we thank God for the recently published
416-page full-coloured illustrated Children Bible,
Alkitab Kanak-Kanak. We have printed the first
10,000 copies and almost half already distributed
to Sabah & Sarawak. We are now asking you to
prayerfully consider supporting the next printing
(and many more subsequent printings) for the
Bahasa-speaking children.
Be a blessing to the Bahasa-speaking church this
Christmas as we launch the “Satu Anak, Satu
th
Alkitab” campaign on the 26 November 2011.
Be challenged by the write-ups in this issue!
Berita Rakan Penabur is an electronic
publication of Wawasan Penabur containing
news and information about our work and
new Christian resources in Bahasa Malaysia.
Please direct all your emails and support to:
Wawasan Penabur Sdn. Bhd
P.O.Box: 8327, Kelana Jaya Post Office
46787 Petaling Jaya, SELANGOR
Fax: 03-7727 7271
Email: wawasan.penabur@gmail.com
Website: www.wawasanpenabur.org
Bank account:
(1) Public Bank, Kelana Jaya branch.
Account No: 3127674507
(2) CIMB Bank, Damansara Utama branch
Account No: 1250 000 7114 058
Introducing Esther and Joshua… they represent
the majority two-third Bahasa-speaking Christians
from Sabah and Sarawak. When they were little,
they had no choice but to attend the KEMAS-run
TASKA (Child-Care), TABIKA (Pre-School) and
TADIKA (Kindies). The ustazah taught them about
God and taught them to pray. The values of the
dominant religion were imparted to them
continuously as early as the age of 2. On the other
hand, they only learned about Moses, David and
Jesus once a week when they had the opportunity
to attend Sunday School.
After TADIKA, they went to the local primary school. In their Sivik and
Kajian Tempatan classes they learned more about Islam and the
contribution of a certain political party to the nation-building of Malaysia.
Though Esther is an Iban and Joshua a Dusun, they couldn’t take the Iban or
Kadazan language as their elective module. They had to learn Arabic
instead. Some of the parents protested but they were told by the
headmaster there wasn’t any Iban or Kadazan language teacher even
though they lived in Iban and Dusun communities! Ustaz and ustazah from
Semenanjung taught them Bahasa Arab, Jawi, J-Qaf and verses from AlQuran.
After 6 years in primary school, they progressed to
secondary school. For the next 5 years, they learned
more about Islam and the contribution of a certain race
and political party to nation-building in the new History
curriculum. Their parents said the new History seemed
different from what they had learned in their time as
other races who did contribute to the fight for
independence were not featured. But Esther and
Joshua couldn’t understand what they were talking
about as all they knew was what was taught in their History class.
In Form 4 they did learn about church history. However, Christianity was
portrayed negatively. They studied about the Dark Ages in Europe, where
the church was portrayed as having plundered the resources of other
nations, colonizing them and leaving them with nothing but poverty.
Oh yes, there was an elective subject they were forced to take - Tasawur
Islam. Some Christian teacher tried to start Bible Knowledge as a subject,
but a few months later she was transferred to another school. So the
attempt was aborted. And after SPM, they learned more about Islamic
civilization and the Malays in their Form 6 History book. By the way, History
is a compulsory subject for SPM and STPM. So, they had to know the
history of Malaysia and Islam really well.
Cont…
(Photos by Bob Teoh & Randy Singkee)
So now they knew Islam more
than their own religion. It was
difficult to get a copy of the
Alkitab. Some of Joshua’s
friends had to pay RM 68.00
for a copy of Alkitab
Indonesia. His mother said
there was a shortage of the
Alkitab since the end of the
1980’s. She said a lot of restrictions made it difficult to bring in
the Alkitab from Indonesia. Joshua received his first Alkitab from
his Youth Pastor at his baptism. But the language was just too
foreign. So the Alkitab Indonesia became just another book left
to gather dust on his small bookshelf.
Esther didn’t go to Form 6. She did well in her SPM and was
accepted into the Pre-University program in one of the local
universities. Sejarah Islam made
up 25% of her score. And
Tamadun Islam was a compulsory
subject. Because the exam paper
was in the objective format, she
had to know her Sejarah Islam
and Tamadun Islam well in order
to answer the 100 objective
questions in 2 hours.
Soon Esther found some Malay guys becoming attracted to her.
Some friendly Kakak also befriended her as she was the only
non-Muslim in the hostel. Now she found herself wearing the
baju kurung more often, and occasionally she wears tudung
when joining them for some religious ceramah.
Both Joshua and Esther finally found a place in the local
university. Tamadun Islam continued to be the compulsory
subject they had to pass. And now they had more Malay than
Christian friends, simply because culturally they were closer to
the Malays than to the Chinese or Indians. That was inevitable
as they had learned how to “berdoa” when they were in TABIKA
and TASKA. They learned Arabic when they were in primary
school. They learned all about the history of Islam in secondary
school. And they studied Islamic civilization extensively in the
university.
Now, after graduating and
having started work in the
government sector, they have
to sit for the Biro Tata Negara
(BTN) exam to get their
position confirmed
(pengesahan jawatan). And in
the BTN Exam, the emphasis is again on Islam civilization and the
contribution of a certain race and political party to the nationbuilding in Malaysia, in the spirit of One Malaysia.
It is only a step away for them to embrace Islam by saying the
kalimah syahadat or by marrying the Muslim courting them!
Building The Faith of Our Children
Imagine all the “Esthers and Joshuas” in East Malaysia.
They represent those Christian children in the interior. And
they could be the children of your friends, relatives, church
members, or even your own family members. Imagine the
peer pressures they are facing. Imagine the shaky faith that
they are having… and imagine the daily encroachment of
faith that they are facing.
(a group of Dusun children from Ranau, Sabah)
And here in most churches (especially from the towns and
cities), we pray fervently for revival and spiritual awakening
in Malaysia. But little that we know our generation of
future leaders was left without being spiritually equipped.
They are the battalion of armies with no sword, no belt, no
shield, and no helmet! In fact, they are the target of the
subtle and aggressive onslaught of Islamization in schools
today!
How then can we strengthen and build the faith of our
children and youths? How can we train a generation of our
future leaders to be strong in their faith?
Child development tells us that when children move
beyond kindergarten into the elementary years, their
school studies begin to make sense to them
developmentally. Stories they’ve had read to them and
ideas they’ve been exposed to since they began speaking
start to come together and they can visualize them as
reality. Religious education of children in this age group is
extremely important.
From a very early age, children are taught basic principles
such as “Jesus loves you” and “The Bible is God’s book.” But
despite hearing those same stories and memorizing Bible
verses, when a child reaches the age of 5 or 6 years, he or
she begins hearing those same stories in a different way
and thinking about them according to new concepts they
have learned about their own lives.
Christian adults have the utmost responsibility in helping
their children develop a Christian foundation that can
withstand these turbulent days. This must be done during
the impressionable childhood years. If we fail in this
responsibility, a different value system, interwoven
insidiously into the current education system, will take the
place of Christian values.
Cont…
How can we build that foundation of faith? We can do so by
impacting them with God's Word throughout their childhood
years. There are a number of resources in Bahasa Malaysia
that would be of help:
1.
Age-Appropriate Bibles
Give age-appropriate Bibles and
Bible storybooks to children. “101
Cerita-Cerita Dari Alkitab” and the
“Alkitab Kanak-Kanak” are now
available for children from 3 to 12.
Through the Alkitab Kanak-Kanak
children will become familiar with
not just Bible stories, but actual
Scripture passages. This should
prepare them to read the Alkitab as they grow older.
2.
Bible Stories
Parents painfully aware of their own inadequate Scripture
knowledge may hesitate to tell Bible stories to their
children. For these parents, “101 Cerita-Cerita Dari
Alkitab” (and Alkitab Kanak-Kanak) will be most helpful.
Parents can use these with confidence to educate their
children in the rudiments of the Christian faith. Stories
from both OT and NT will inspire faith in young hearts,
laying a foundation of trust in a great God.
3.
Bible Study and Children Education Material
Tired of looking for Children Church/Sunday School
materials? We have some resources in Bahasa Malaysia
that for discipling children and youth:
(c) “Windows of Encounter – Believing is Living” series,
suitable for ages 4-12.
For more info, contact Selwyn or Alice at
selwyn.alice@yahoo.co.uk
d) Wawassan Penabur’s OBOR Belia series is suitable as a
youth discipleship program. Consisting of a 5-year
curriculum specifically designed for Bahasa-speaking
Christians, it has some unique features:
 Teaching that is contextualised to the cultural setting
of Bahasa-speaking churches
 Interesting and interactive activities that capture
learners’ attention
 A wide perspective covering many essential aspects
of Christian Life
 Relevant application of biblical truths to pertinent
issues encountered by youths
 A varied teaching strategy catering to different
learning styles
(a) Pristine World’s “Siri Penjelajah Alkitab Kanak-Kanak”
consists of 2 volumes (Jilid 1 & 2) on the life of Jesus.
There is a text book for teachers and 2 workbooks for
students (Ages 5-7 and 8-10).
(Visit our website www.wawasanpenabur.org for more info)
(For more info, contact Pristine World at peterlimct@yahoo.com )
(b) House Agape’s “Siri Pendidikan Anak” currently has 2
volumes, with a third being finalized. This series is
suitable as Sunday School material for ages 4-10.
For more info, contact
Angelina Lai at:
houseagape@yahoo.com.my
While the process of faith may be miraculous, it is not entirely
mysterious. Jesus explained this in His parable of the sower
(Matthew 13:1-23). Teaching received without understanding
kills the yield. Faith with shallow roots withers and dies.
Distractions, worries and the desire for other things choke
the Word. But one who hears the Word and understands it
bears fruit. Jesus concludes His parable: “The one who
received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears
the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a
hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew
13:23).
So, what crop are you sowing into your children?
Board of Advisers
 Rev. Wong Fong Yang
Senior Pastor of City Discipleship
Presbyterian Church and former Moderator
of the Presbyterian Synod in Malaysia
 Pr. Danil Raut
President, SIB Semenanjung
Board of Directors (Penabur)
 Chow Chee Yan
Petaling Jaya Evangelical Free Church
 Roshan Thiran
Pusat Injil Kelana Jaya
 Pr. Alfred R. Tais
Executive Secretary, NECF’s Bahasa Malaysia
Commission
 Randy Singkee
Sungai Way-Subang Methodist Church
Launching of
“Satu Anak, Satu Alkitab” Campaign
on the 26th November 2011.
More details on time & venue
will be sent to you as soon as it is finalised.
How Can We Work Together?
There are many ways for us to partner together in God’s ministry of sowing, growing and spreading the best resources to the Bahasa-speaking Church.
Help raise awareness and funds. I believe this ministry has
long-term potential. I desire to play an active role in engaging
hearts and minds, so that others will also commit to strengthening
the BM Church – through energy, funds and prayer.
Sponsoring some of Wawasan Penabur publications for Sabah
and Sarawak. I believe my giving will bless the Bahasa-speaking
Christians – Orang Asli, Sabah & Sarawak.
Get involved in writing/translation projects. I would like to
join and contribute to a network of Christian writers, translators
and publishers focused on developing BM resources.
Pray intentionally. “Unless the LORD builds the house, we
labor in vain”. I would like to pray for the Bahasa-speaking
churches, and keep the Wawasan Penabur team accountable to
the Lord through faithful intercession and action.
I / My Organisation/Company would want to contribute to Wawasan Penabur Sdn. Bhd.
Here is my/our gift _______________ for Wawasan Penabur.
Name : ________________________________________________ Email: ________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Tel: ________________(hse) ____________________ (off) ___________________ (mobile) _________________ (fax)